Just A Sunday Post #69

Products the magic world has been missing.

Monsters

There are a few monsters in terms of magic styles. The first one I discovered is The One Trick Monster. The One Trick Monster does only one trick. And the whole show is just build up to do that one trick. Most street shows work like that. Gazzo is a good example. It is all about the Cups and Balls. All the other tricks are just fluff and filler. The audience will go home and all they remember is the last trick and the funny guy. The One Trick Monster, doesn't do just one trick, but it sure seems like it. The filler material is usually as well thought out, but in the end almost all seem to neither notice nor appreciate.

Another one is The Clear as Day Monster. It is a very special type of performer, the one who does quite a few tricks during the show but he makes sure all of the tricks are remembered. Alexander deCova comes to mind as well as Jeff McBride. All the tricks are well thought out and all of the show is not merely a bunch of tricks strung together but are placed within an overarching storyline. Usually in the end there is a recap. Maybe a trick that repeats all of the tricks quickly, or maybe a speech will end the performance of The Clear as Day Monster.

Then there is The Blur Monster. Usually a fast working performer. Chad Long is a nice example of that. The audience will see basically a bunch of tricks all building on top of each other and will not remember any of them. All they do remember is that they had a good time. I personally favor that approach, as I don't want my audience to remember what they have seen. That way they wanna see it again and they cannot figure out how I have done it, as they don't even remember what was going on. It doesn't mean the the magic is confusing, it means that the sheer amount of tricks in very little time will be too much to remember. Here is one cool thing about it: It allows you to get away with bold methods. The audience simply has no time to think about it, as the next effect is already taking place.

Each Monster has advantages and disadvantages. The One Trick Monster only gets praise for the one trick and the rest is forgotten. The Clear as Day Monster gets the fame but has very little venues to work at, and The Blur Monster can get away with bold methods, but the audience only remembers the performer and none of the tricks.

What other monsters are out there?

Oh, there are a few:

The Won't Do Any Magic 'cause Can't Shut Up Monster
The Treat Me Like A God Monster
The Humiliation Is The Only Kind Of Humor Monster

But I like none of them, and like real monsters, those need to be feared.

The Horror

Today it hit me. What if I lose one of my arms in a freak accident and my life goes all René Lavand on me? What tricks could I still do?

Not much I thought. Well... there still is mentalism. And then it hit me again.

Mentalism is for the handicapped magician.

And when I look around it makes perfect sense.

WMF Markus Bender

Weird, really weird, I am sure Markus Bender is a really nice German guy. But how come that even nice guys screw up regularly?

He has an online magic school. That is what he calls it, I call it ripping others off. None of the material Mr. Bender "teaches" is his. I went through all the items on his website and none (that's nothing) was his'. Seriously, no creativity and no unique angle. And of course he charges for his teachings. Average price of a simple sleight: Three Euros. And among those are great gems like the Chris Cross Force. See where I am heading to?

Markus Bender teaches the 10 count (that sponge ball thing) for 5 Euros in the "advanced" section of his really nice looking website. Is it his to teach? I think not, as he is not the originator, nor has he put any new touches on that.

Interestingly he always seems to choose the worst possible structure/patter for his "presentations". Like writing down the prediction after the choice is made or having one of eight cards selected, openly discarding seven wrong ones and then slowly revealing that the last card is the selection, while it should be clear that it has to be the selection.

Look at that:

Now here is my take on the same freaking effect: Free Magic Stuff

At least I put the twist to it of NOT finding the card.

Also, he is not really that good. In terms of skill that is. This is just a theory, but if you gonna teach some sleights, I expect you to be able to do them. Don't be a Ben Salinas. Watch the following video.


Great coin work right? You can tell that a lot of work went into small details and natural motions. No wait, you can't.

So let me recap: Markus Bender takes the magic creations of more talented magicians and sells it. He adds nothing to them and he calls his marketing scheme a school. Naturally this makes him a teacher. Great guy!

And now some German words: Markus, falls du das liest: Geht's noch? Anderer Leute Effekte nehmen und verkaufen zur persönlichen Bereicherung. Klappt's nicht so gut mit Auftritten, dass man nun auch noch die Zauberkunst selbst verkaufen muss? Schade, wirklich schade! Verscheuer doch noch das Münzverschwinden mit dem Glas wo ein Stück Papier rangeklebt ist. Zwei Euro Fünfzig lassen sich da wohl noch rausholen. Oder wie wäre es gleich noch mit einem Zauberkasten?

Markus Bender is this weeks Magic Failure, unless he has a really, really good excuse.

I Would

I would wanna check out the box!
I would not understand why the card needs to be signed!
I would understand, that the signing was misdirecting me from the adding of the gimmick!
I would build it myself, if I would like the effect!
I would not buy this!

Oh Boy, Miller can't get it right.